I almost didn’t get out of bed today. It was cold, wet, and nasty - and the night before we’d been kept up by our neurotic critters complaining that there was a thunderstom. The rain continued off and on throughout the night, and it was pretty wet come the morning, but I dragged myself out and got down to RunTex in time for our 5:45AM start.

It was a small turnout, no doubt a combination of the weather and the excellent showing many Gazelles had at Sunday’s 10 miler (for which I was out of town). Still, we trotted off for the mile and a half to Zilker park for drills and last minute comments. Our task was simple - 3 or 4 rolling one mile repeats, 2 minutes rest between each one.

We discussed taking it easy for the first lap, but I felt like I was really working hard. It turns out that we clocked a 7:30, that’s not bad for that particular route and certainly isn’t a “reconnisance” lap. On the second, which reversed directions (giving us more gentle downhill and a steep uphill) I was huffing and puffing, and came in about 4 seconds after the main pack. I felt lousy until I saw that I’d just done a 7:05. I’m still not back up to where I need to be, and this was very solid for a humid morning.

On the third lap, I was doing alright for about the first 2 minutes until I heard a surprisingly loud “ding!” sound as my wedding ring flew off my finger. It didn’t hide, thankfully, so I was able to wave off Emily’s offered assistance and pick it up, but it cost me a good 10 seconds. After grabbing it up and heading off, I tried to chase down the lead pack and I think that I tried a little too hard - as I headed down the biggest hill, I slipped on some mud and came down hard, on my ass. Ouch! My dignity was hurt more than I was, but it still hurt. After that one-two punch, I jogged the rest of the way back (surprisingly still under 8:00) and called it a day.

So. All in all, not a terribly inspiring workout, but they happen. On Wednesday I get to do my favorite track day: 20 x 400M. Yup, five miles of single laps. Sounds weird, but I love it. Until then, I think I’m going to go and take another ibuprofen.

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